KALLUM Watkins will bring more than talent alone when he arrives on the Gold Coast next week, according to Titans football manager Anthony Laffranchi.

The centre has more than a decade of experience at English club Leeds, plus 21 Test appearances for England, but just as vital as his on-field presence will be the effect he has on the club’s young backs.

“He’s going to help out and provide that strike out wide for us,” Laffranchi said.

“Kallum is an experienced player but also what he brings off the field in terms of personality.

“He’s a great guy and I think our current squad members – Treymain Spry, Ioane Seiuli, Brian Kelly and Jesse Arthars – those kind of kids will really benefit from having a Kallum Watkins involved in our squad.

“Kallum is going to bring a wealth of experience but he’s still only 28 and he has got a lot of footy to offer. He’s going to be a great asset to the club.”

Watkins will play his swan song match for Leeds this weekend before flying to the Gold Coast.

The Titans have a bye following their match against Manly tomorrow before meeting Penrith on July 12.

On the Youtube clips he looked likely.... I thought he would go ok but the last two games he really got shown up by the younger guys. He's not on big money but came to us for a chance , I'd be surprised to see him here next year. Holbrook would have seen him getting around this year and last so he would have a real sense of him.

Englishman Kallum Watkins opens up about life in the NRL with the Gold Coast Titans

In a wide-ranging one-on-one interview ahead of Friday’s season opener, Titan Kallum Watkins opens up about his brutal initiation to life in the NRL, the English invasion and the impact of new coach Justin Holbrook.

Brent O’Neill, Gold Coast Bulletin

A BRUTAL initiation to life in the NRL has left Titan Kallum Watkins with a point to prove as he fights to become the latest Super League success story.

A late-season arrival from Leeds in 2019, the 28-year-old centre endured a baptism of fire in the NRL as his six appearances all ended in defeat, including a record 58-6 thrashing from the Sydney Roosters.

His battle to make a mark on the Gold Coast was not helped by a slower-than-expected recovery from a knee reconstruction in mid-2018, with the 25-Test Englishman conceding he may have rushed his return.

ISC STAR SIGNS TWO-YEAR TITANS DEAL

But having now hit full fitness and with impressive trial form under his belt, Watkins is determined to show Titans fans what he can do when they kick off the new season against the Raiders in Canberra on Friday night.

“The challenge is huge but it’s a challenge I believe I can do and achieve,” Watkins, a veteran of more than 250 games for Leeds, said.

“It’s been a long pre-season, which is good for me because I needed it. Pre-season has helped me massively to get in the best shape I can be.

“Last year was tough coming back from an injury. I probably came back too early and that affected my performances.

STONE’S VISION FOR REIGNING PREMIERS

“It didn’t go too well throughout last year but that happens and it’s given me the challenge to work even harder. I’ve got a chance here (at the Titans) and in the NRL so that’s exciting. I want to get to the next level now.

“Now I know what the NRL is about and what’s required to get to that level. Them games (last year) probably helped me in terms of what’s expected.

“There’s no room for error here - that’s the big thing - and you want to push yourself to the best you can do. Getting the best players testing you week in, week out was something I needed.

“We’re prepared now, we’re ready to get going.”

South Sydney’s Burgess brothers - Sam, Tom and George - have long flown the flag for Englishmen in the NRL, while Canberra’s UK contingent of Josh Hodgson, Elliot Whitehead, John Bateman and Ryan Sutton were instrumental in the Raiders’ run to last year’s grand final.

‘THEY’VE GIVEN THEMSELVES THE BEST CHANCE OF BEING IN THE SIDE’

Watkins now hopes he can make a similar impact on the Glitter Strip.

“The guys that have come out here and been really successful, they’ve had doubts. They’ve earned the right to be here, especially the Burgess boys, and then the Canberra boys that have come in as well,” he said.

NRL: Bulldogs playmaker Lachie Lewis says Canterbury are looking to take some scalps this NRL season.
“That’s given a lot of confidence to other players, including myself, to experience NRL and back yourself and that’s probably helped on the international stage for us as well.

“The plan’s always been to come here (to the NRL). I was at a club where it was going really well and I was happy at Leeds as well so that probably stalled it a little bit.

FORMER TITAN EARNS SECOND NRL CHANCE

“I’ve had opportunities to come here (previously) but not. I’ve taken it mid-season, which was a tough decision but I felt it was going to be a better decision for me as well.

“When I first came here I said I wanted that challenge to play against the best teams and the best players and being under certain pressures here. That’s the challenge I’ve always wanted.

“I’m at a time where really I should be in my prime and pre-season is done now so I just want to go and have a good season for this club and for myself and my family.”

While Watkins never got the chance to play under former Titans coach Garth Brennan before his sacking last year, he said new mentor Justin Holbrook had already shaped his game.

TITANS RECRUIT’S SIMPLE GOAL ON THE GOLD COAST

“I’m still learning as a player and trying to improve. Obviously with the new coaching staff coming in with new ideas, they’ve kept it real simple, which has been really good,” he said.

“It’s been a really enjoyable pre-season, albeit very tough as well, so it’s going to be an exciting season for the club.”

TITANS centre Kallum Watkins insists he has no regrets about his move to the NRL battlers, adamant the club has the personnel to turn around their season when they return.

A late-season arrival from Leeds Rhinos in 2019, the 22-Test Englishman is yet to taste victory on the Gold Coast after losing all six games last season and the Titans’ first two outings of 2020 before the seasons was suspended due to the coronavirus.

Having now fully recovered from a 2018 knee reconstruction, Watkins has held his own in the 24-6 season-opening loss to Canberra and then the 46-6 loss to the Eels.

Given his horror start to life on the Glitter Strip, the 29-year-old could be forgiven for thinking he’d made the wrong career move but said he had never doubted his decision.

“I knew before coming here where the Titans were at but I knew that they’ve got good people here and the players that they’ve got are top-quality players,” said Watkins before the season was suspended.

“If you get things right and you get things together, the performances will show on the field and I think that’s important. The players that we’ve got here, potentially we can do something special, which is something I looked at before I came.

“The position that they were in (when I arrived), it was pretty similar to Leeds at that time as well. That’s another challenge in itself, to help a team get to be where they want to be and be successful.

“Coming here was a good idea, I don’t regret it at all. I’ve never had doubts whilst I’ve been here, even though the season didn’t go well (in 2019).

“But pretty much the whole year didn’t go well (for me) so I took it on the chin and thought ‘next season’s going to be better’. Once you get a few games in you’re going to be in the best shape you can be.”

Based at Burleigh with wife Sophie and their three sons, Watkins said he was loving the Gold Coast lifestyle after 13 seasons with Leeds.

“It’s a different scene to back home in Manchester and Leeds. It’s been good, it’s been a really enjoyable experience for everybody,” he said.

“It took (the family) a little while to settle in (but) it’s been pretty easy for me because you’re here with 30 guys as soon as you turn up to work.

“Whereas my missus and the kids, they’re into the unknown and they’ve got to meet new people and make new friends.

“That was always going to be the tough part of it and you get certain moments where they’ll miss family back home … but it’s something we wanted to experience. It’s a beautiful place to live.”

ABOUT US

Established in 2005 as the Gold Coast Titans official Chat Forum, we are now known as the League of Titans Independent Website. A place for fans of the Gold Coast Titans to come and touch base with other diehard fans.